Common examples of SSTs include automated teller machines (ATMs), information kiosks, financial services centers, bill payment kiosks, lottery kiosks, postal services machines, check-in and check-out terminals such as those used in the hotel, car rental, and airline industries, retail self-checkout terminals, vending machines, and the like.
Many self-service terminals (SST), for example automated teller machines (ATMs), operate under host driven systems. In such a host driven system a remote host communicates with the SST via a defined protocol, such as NCR Direct Connect (NDC) for ATMs. Typically, in the defined protocol the SST communicates status and health data for each device attached to the SST across a network to the host. In a host driven system the host instructs the SST to carry out operations such as dispense cash, print receipts etc., and the SST has little active processing involved in these decisions.
The implementation of a further device, of a type already present on the SST, for example two cash dispense units on a single ATM, requires changes to the protocol implementation at the host. Each device introduced into an SST requires changes to be implemented at the host. As each SST may have different devices replicated upon it the changes to the protocol can be extensive. Such changes are time consuming and expensive for a vendor to implement. Furthermore, any change to the host implemented protocols introduce the opportunity for programming errors to occur which can increase the likelihood of faults.
Currently, it is not possible to provide a mixed network of SSTs with just one device, or multiple instances of functionally similar devices as each type would require a specific host application and associated protocols. This limits the possibility of integration of multiple device SSTs into an existing network.